Bryce Tucker opened his collegiate track career Friday by running the 5th-fastest 600 in Rutgers history.

Tucker, a three-time Meet of Champions winner in the 400-meter hurdles and a medalist last spring at the U.S. Under-20 Championships in Eugene, Ore., ran 1:19.52 for 600 meters Friday, leading a 1-2-3 South Jersey finish at the Rutgers Holiday Classic at the Armory in New York.

Two other Rutgers runners – Rancocas Valley’s Micah Wood and Deptford’s Lathan Brown – took 2nd and 3rd, Wood in 1:19.3 and Brown in 1:21.93.

Three of the five-fastest 600 runners in Rutgers history are now from South Jersey. Delsea’s Aaron Younger is No. 3 at 1:18.91 from 2011, Wood is No. 4 at 1;19.46 from two years ago and Tucker is now No. 5. Lenape graduate Steve Swern is No. 10 at 1:21.63 from 2008 and Egg Harbor’s Eric Barnes got knocked out of the top 10 with his 1:21.67 from 2022.

Tucker ran one serious 600 in high school, winning the New Balance Games last year on the same track in 1:20.79, No. 3 in South Jersey history. Brown was 3rd in that race in 1:22.44.

Tucker and Wood also went 1-2 in the 800, Tucker winning in 2:00.02 and Wood 2nd in 2:00.07, with nobody else under 2:10.